MOCHO DIABLO ~ MONOCHROME...second album from Brazil's grungy stoners.

I've been featuring a few bands from Brazil lately, not because I have gone out of my way to seek bands from that country, no,its been more of a case of them finding me really! The latest band from the land of carnivals and rainforests to assail my riff battered ears goes by the name of Mocho Diablo and they have just released their second album Monochrome.

Gui Klaussner (vocals/ theremin); Murilo Silva (bass/backing vocals); Mauricio Peruche(guitar) and Thiago Pinho (drums) are the four guys who make up Mocho Diablo and together they have created an album that blends grungy dynamics with stoner/hard rock grooves dusted with a little South American flamboyance.

 

Monochrome begins with "Intro", a gentle, laid back eclectic mix of acoustic guitar, theremin and latin percussions, it's both charming and beautiful but in no way prepares you for the thunderstorm that is about to explode from your speakers when ,second track, "Sink The Black Swan" kicks in.  Klaussner dominates "Sink The black Swan" his clean slightly throaty vocals roaring and sermonising over a backdrop of fast, full on riffage and percussive fury. Lyrics such as "You can jump into a bucket of mice and climb back like a dizzy cockroach" might not win a Pulitzer Prize but when sang with Klaussner's gusto and passion and delivered atop a wall of delicious stoner fuzz,. well.... they just seem to work.

"My Enemy" and " Silent Mass" follow, the former an out and out rock'n'roll romp that delights with its thrashy attack and the latter a deep groove laden riff vehicle with a slight Monster Magnet vibe.

"Me And The Devil Walking Side By Side" sees Mocho Diablo discovering their mojo, bluesy (in a sort of White Stripes way) and big sounding ,it boasts a chorus that will be going around in your head a week after the song ends.

"19 Maniacs" is next to spin, with Silva and Pinho laying down excellent drum and bass work over which Peruche delivers  inspired riffs,solos and licks. Klaussner's vocal here is a masterclass of controlled aggression and power, you can almost feel the spittle hitting you as he sings about "Rusty machetes in captivity"

The best is left to last with the excellent "Hispaniola". Silva comes in to his own here, his slinky funky bass line locking in with Pinho's heavy percussive onslaught giving the tune a slight Indian raga feel over which  Klaussner's voice and theremin go toe to toe with Peruche's furious fretwork.

It's a glorious track and great way to close an album that proves not only can grunge and stoner live side by side but they can also live quite happily together.